Glasgow City Council has approved plans a 784-bed purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA).
Developer Watkin Jones has received the green light to build the 36-storey student accommodation, set to be the tallest residential building in Scotland.
The Àrd, mixed-use development, will see the regeneration of Portcullis House, a brownfield site at Charing Cross in Glasgow, with the partial retention of the former HMRC building.
Designed by Hawkins\brown, The scheme is set to feature ensuite rooms and studios to meet the growing rental housing demand for Glasgow’s five universities.
In May, The Herald reported Glasgow and Edinburgh are facing a “considerable lack of supply” PBSA with the former needing an additional 22,000 beds to meet requirements for student accommodation in the city.
The residential design features:
- Games rooms
- Laundry rooms
- Lounges
- Co-working spaces
- External terraces and terrace gardens
- Gym, yoga and spin studio
- Art studio
- Shared kitchens
- Master-chef kitchen, and private dining areas
- Library and study areas
- Sky lounge
- Ground-floor café
To incorporate sustainability features the development will retain part of the existing reinforced concrete frame, saving 900 tonnes of embodied carbon, and the project aims to achieve a BREEAM rating of Excellent.
Watkin Jones previously completed nine managed student accommodation developments since 2011, approaching 4,000 student homes.
Iain Smith, Planning Director at Watkin Jones, said: “Building on our strong record of delivery in Glasgow, I am pleased to announce that we have secured planning permission for The Àrd in Glasgow.
“Amidst the chronic undersupply of student housing in Glasgow, this development marks a significant step forward in addressing the demand for additional student accommodation, and also represents our commitment to creating sustainable homes in key regeneration areas.
“The Àrd will not only revitalise the current brownfield site at Charing Cross, bringing much-needed redevelopment to Glasgow, but will also enhance the public realm and support the thriving student community.”
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